The Tales of an Age
by Metoochocolate
Summary: These one-shots make up the tale of an age. An age of prosperity and the rise of the greatest Shinobi couple ever known. A series of one-shots between Minato and Kushina, usually together, occasionally alone. Mostly cannon, not chronological. In this chapter, Kushina discovers her tender side.
1. Dreams

Kushina sealed her equipment into a small scroll before tucking it into her bedroll. Seven days in one of Konoha's training grounds, alone and unsupervised. It had sounded fun at the time, and like many of the other academy students, she had rushed to sign up.

It only took three hours for Kushina to realize that 'unsupervised' wasn't always a good thing. Undoubtedly, it was a great chance to test her skills. Kushina had to employ many skills she had never thought applicable for survival. Especially testing for paint in her shampoo and salt in her water, courtesy of those charming classmates of hers.

Without teachers to chide cheeky children, Kushina had found herself the butt of many 'prank the foreigner' attempts. Hence the need to keep her supplies sealed in a scroll. Yellow dyed shampoo was not pleasant in the slightest.

Rolling onto her side, Kushina allowed her eyelids to slide shut, carful to keep her scroll tucked under her body. Only to be awakened two hours later by shouts of "Namikaze!" and "Minato-kun!"

Namikaze? Where had she heard that name before? Kushina's sleep riddled mind refused to clear and her thoughts seemed to stumble from one disorientating path to another. Wait... Namikaze... that flake! Was he in trouble? Summoning out three kunai, Kushina stumbled clumsily out of her one man tent.

The eight year olds grumbled mutinously as the foreigner shoved her way through the small ring of students surrounding Minato's tent.

"What happened here?" Kushina yelled at a petite little blonde.

"I-I don't know, I just heard sc-screaming...It was coming from Minato-kun's tent so I thought I'd go out an check..."

"Hey stop it foreigner! Michiko didn't do a thing, stop threatening her!" Yet another blond ordered, Inoichi was it?

Kushina drew herself up to her full, considerable, height. She was less skilled than some of the students here in sparring and she knew it. But she also knew that everyone was wary of her and most of them feared her.

Kushina summoned as much killer intent as she could and spoke, trying to live up to her bloody nickname. "There is no issue here, go to sleep,"

Ignoring the protests of the many fan girls and 'concerned' boys, who only wanted some gossip. Even at the age of eight, Kushina had a plan. It might not have been the right one, but it was a plan. And that plan was to bully everyone into compliance.

Kushina took on a mocking baby voice, at least she tried. For the teachers hiding in the trees, they found her attempts incredibly cute. For the pre-genin students who had never faced anything scarier than a spider, she was the quintessence of scary.

"See these kunai? They are very real and very very sharp. You wouldn't wanna be cut by one of these would you? So you all better do what this foreigner says, back to your tents!" Kushina shouted the last line, leaning forward aggressively.

Instantly, the crowd scattered and the academy students hurried away from the furious redhead.

"Hey flake? You okay in there?" Kushina stepped into Minato's tent boldly, ignoring any hesitance, only to see him lying facing away from her.

"Flake, I know you're awake, might as well stop pretending."

Minato rolled over and sat up slowly, his over bright eyes trained uncertainly on Kushina. "What do you want?" His voice wavered pitifully and Minato clenched his tiny fists, trying to control his emotions.

"The brats out there said you were screaming," Kushina stated nonchalantly. When Minato failed to answer and instead turned his head away, Kushina continued, "So, is it true? Did you have some kind of bad dream, flake?"

Kushina tagged on the nickname as an afterthought, she was starting to feel uncertainty. Plan A had been to storm into the tent and yell and shout until Minato conceded and told her everything, it usually worked. And plan B... Well, there was no plan B. Suddenly both plans suddenly seemed inadequate and tactless. Time to go with Plan Made-up-on-the-spot...

"Minato..." Kushina tried to imitate the whiny voice she had heard Michiko use before, "Is there something wrong? You can tell me, you know that don't you?"

Minato shook his head obstinately and pouted, acting finally like the eight year old he was.

With a sigh of exasperation, Kushina sat herself down next to Minato, _forget all these stupid plans! Mother always said shinobi live for the moment anyway! _

Kushina then proceeded embrace her true nature, meaning back to Plan A, shake Minato, very hard. "Don't you dare lie to me flake! Tell me what's going on!"

Wincing at the volume Minato watched Kushina curiously. "Kushina? Am I a good boy?"

"What?"

"Am I a good boy? Daddy always frowns at me and mummy always hits me. Did I do something wrong?" Minato's lip was starting to tremble.

"What are you talking about Minato, your mother and father would never do that! They love you!" Or at least Kushina thought they did, she had never seen them before, but every mummy and daddy loved their child.

"No, no, they left because of me, they did! Mummy said so!" Minato had started to tremble and tears were slowly trickling down his face.

Kushina was stunned, what was Minato talking about? She had been expecting him to tell her about some flaky nightmare about a failed test or something, not something as serious, as strange as this! Not something that would leave the flake in tears...

"You wouldn't leave me, would you, Kushina?" Minato seemed to have been reduced to a five year old, "Not like them, not like mummy and d-d-daddy..."

Even at the age of eight, Kushina could tell when someone was becoming hysterical. However, at the tender age of eight she had no idea what to do. The painful slaps she would later give to anyone entering hysterics had not yet developed in her personality. So Kushina emulated what she could remember of her mother.

Kushina pulled Minato into a shaky embrace, trying to remember what the heck to do in this situation. Basic academy training had covered none of this. Kushina began singing, or rather humming, a soft lullaby. One she had heard long ago from her father.

Minato seemed to calm down slightly and whimpered into her shoulder. The melody was beautiful and calming, yet Kushina seemed so small and fragile, surely she would be taken away from him too. The bad men would come again! They would come and take her like they took brother and sister! Or...or maybe they would make Shina-chan hate him and then she would leave...

Minato could feel the omnipresent fear rise up again and he snuggled closer to Kushina, she was relatively tall for her age and he was small, so he fit. He was glad he fit, otherwise Kushi might make him sleep on the floor because she thought he was too big to cry.

Kushina stopped abruptly as she felt Minato tense even more. She was doing something wrong wasn't she? She must have forgotten something that mummy and daddy did to make her feel better.

"More?" Minato looked up hopefully at the girl whose lap he was lying on, whose hair encircled him comfortingly.

The night passed quickly, within fifteen minutes Minato had fallen asleep, but not before untangling himself from Kushina, ever the proper gentleman. Strangely, the fear monster seemed to have disappeared from his belly and Minato slept the rest of the night peacefully.

It started as a grudging friendship and gently evolved into a full blown romance. Many things changed over the years, but there was one constant. Kushina would always sing away Minato's monsters.

* * *

Disclaimer: I wrote this over the course of a month so it is a bit wonky. And I don't own Naruto. Don't expect more disclaimers :P

I hope you enjoyed, please review :) (I promise I will complete my Nejiten series of one-shots too, I already have three entries written!)


	2. To die alone

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

* * *

No one deserves to die alone

_Minato told me that once and I mocked him_, Kushina reflected while grimly blocking the oncoming stab, and now she was hoping he'd apply the same principle to her.

As much as she'd like to blame Minato for the current situation, she couldn't. After all, it wasn't as if Minato had handed her the mission and chased her from Konoha, _though he as good as banished me_.

Kushina wiped the blood away from her eyes, smearing it across her cheeks, tears of blood.

_Maybe he'll bring my body back to Whirlpool for me, or Konoha at least_

That was all the help she could expect and Kushina knew it. For once she was truly alone. Another chakra enhanced thrust, another broken body to add to her grotesque barricade. Because, if Minato was coming he would be here by now.

The shinobi seemed to come in unstoppable waves and Kushina slipped into the monstrous state of mind that earned her the nickname 'Bloody Habanero'. While the unconscious mind fought, the conscious mind wandered.

As Kushina fought her last battle, for she knew it would be her last battle - there was no getting out of this one - she wondered what might have happened if she'd acted differently. If she had told him the truth from the start, if she hadn't broken the news to him on the night of his proposal.

_I'm the kyuubi_

Oh indeed, a grand thing to say when the love of your life is trying to propose to you. Yet, she had hope Minato would be reasonable and not storm off like-

Kushina was momentarily jerked out of her musings as she dropped to the ground to avoid a kunai, but Kushina was slow in getting up, her ribs protesting violently and a second kunai found it's way into her shoulder.

_Use the kyuubi_

A month ago Kushina might have done just that. Now, after being scorned by the only person who ever mattered to her. Kushina would never utilise its power, even, if it cost her life.

With a snarl Kushina yanked the offending piece of metal out and nearly lost her balance as blood begun to gush out, flinging it back at the shinobi who had gotten in the lucky shot.

_Just hold on a bit longer Kushina, just a bit longer - and then? What its the use?_ _More will come._

_Alone, I am alone..._

The enemy ninja were coming closer now, clambering over her shield of dead bodies and she was tiring, movements coming slower, sloppier...

When the first senbon hit, Kushina was too numbed by blood loss to notice, then the second one came, and the third. Her katana, slick with blood, clattered to the floor, closely followed by the thump of a body.

As Kushina felt the world go cold and her vision fade to black, she thought, just maybe, that she had seen a yellow flash.

_I'm sorry Minato, I'm so sorry..._

The enemy shinobi never had a chance to celebrate, as soon as the ferocious red-head had been felled another Konoha shinobi had appeared. He looked confused, concerned and furious.

Minato had come to check on Kushina as soon as her chakra had sputtered out completely. It took a full ten seconds for him to process Kushina lying on the floor, hands pressed futilely over a wound that slowly leaked blood. It took another ten seconds before the shinobi who had dared touch his wife lay dead or dying.

Minato wasted no time; he picked Kushina up and started first-aid.

"N-Namikaze...y-you said before...that nobody d-deserve to die a-alone...is that still...true?" Kushina had great difficulty speaking, trying to breathe without choking on her own blood.

"You're not dying Kushina and don't call me that," Minato said desperately still working on her battered body.

"Is it?" Kushina reached up and gripped his wrist with bruising force, "Is it?"

"Yes,"

Kushina relaxed her death grip and smiled contntedly. "Say...you still l-love me, say..."

Minato cursed as Kushina slid rapidly into shock, any further and... He needed to get her back to Konoha, fast.

"Kushina?" Minato prodded gently, trying to keep her aware as he gathered her katana and got ready to launch the hiraishin tri-kunai.

"Don't..let me die alone," Kushina's voice was weak, as fragile of that as a child's.

"I promise," _I rejected you once, I won't let you die alone_

So, when Kushina finally passed away, meters from the gate of Konoha, seconds from help. Minato kept his promise. He wouldn't let her die alone. As Kushina took her last breath, he did too.

_Maybe this isn't what you meant Kushina,, but I won't ever let you be alone._

* * *

So, I know it's been a while since I updated (see: understatement of the year), but give me three weeks to get my exams and concerts over and done with, I have lot's of stories I've finished, just not edited. Reviews are appreciated :)


End file.
